Collar ornament

ABSTRACT

A collar ornament for collars of shirts, blouses and the like has a generally V-shaped ornamental member, provided with a rib extending along a lower edge portion of the inner side thereof, and also provided with a clamping arrangement fastened to the inner side releasably engaging a collar in the vicinity of the chin of a wearer.

United States Patent 1191 Navarro 1 July 23, 1974 1 COLLAR ORNAMENT 500,864 Day 24/252 B 1761 memo Jose R05 Rambla San 1 133335 ""JJJJf/Jh' Carlos, 20, Tarragona, Spain 3,020,554 Wolanski 2/153 3,264,655 Thistle 2/l50 [22] 1973 3,538,510 Davis, Sr... 2 149 [21] Appl. No.: 337,739 3,588,918 Thistle 2/153 J Primary Examiner-Richard J. Scanlan, Jr. [30] Fol'elgll Application Priority Da a Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Michael S. Striker June 5,1972 Spain 181136 52 US. Cl. 2/145,,24/49 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl A41d 25/04 A collar ornament for collars of shirts, blouses and the [58] Field of Search 2/144, 149, 150, 152, 153, like has a generally V-shaped ornament member,

2/ 154; 24/49, 65, 241 S, 241 P, 233, 252 B, provided with a rib extending along a lower edge por- 252 'J; D2/305, 315, 354, 359; D45/ 19 tion of the inner side thereof, and also provided with a w clamping arrangement fastened to the inner side re- [56] References Cited leasably engaging a collar in the vicinity of the chin of UNITED STATES PATENTS a wearer- 112,237 2/1871 Gibbud ..2/154 7 Claims, 9 Drawingliignres COLLAR ORNAMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a collar ornament for shirts, blouses and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a collar ornament which is to be worn in the same manner as, and in lieu of, a necktie.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved collar ornament.

More particularly, it is an objet of the present invention to provide a collar ornament which replaces the conventional necktie.

Still more particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collar ornament which canbe quickly placed and fastened to a collar in the region of the chin of the wearer, and is easy to release from the collar.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a collar ornament which has an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a collar ornament which is inexpensive and simple in its construction.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a collar ornament which, briefly stated, comprises a combination of an ornamental member having an inner and an outer side, a rib which extends along a lower edge portion of said inner side,

. and collar clamping means fastened to said inner side.

Another feature of the present invention is that the inner side of the ornamental body,v which side is adapted to face the neck of the wearer, is preferably of concavely shaped configuration.

Still another feature of the present invention is the currently preferred curvature of the edges of the ornamental member. The upper edge of the member is preferably arcuately curved in the direction towards its lower edge, and the latter is preferably arcuately curved in direction away from the upper edge.

The rib which extends along a lower edge portion of the inner side of the ornamental member may project substantially normal from the inner side of the ornamental member. It may further have varying width in order to permit the collar ornament better to contact the human neck in conformance with the curvature thereof.

An advantageous feature of the present invention is the simplicity of the clamping means. The clamping means comprises a base element, a lever element and a spring element, all being in the form of strips. The base element and the spring element are partially fastened to the inner side of said ornamental body. The lever element coacts with the spring element in a space between said inner side of the ornamental member and said base element, rendering it possible to lock the lever element in two extreme positions, namely an opening and a clamping position.

According to a still another feature of the present invention, an ornamental hanger may be suspended from the ornamental member. The ornamental member, the rib, the components of the clamping means, and the ornamental hanger may all be made of metallic or plastic material.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the collar ornament accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the collar ornament shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the ornament;

FIG. 4A is a side elevational view and FIG. 4B a front elevational view of the base element of said clamping means; a

FIG. 5A is a side elevational view and FIG. 5B is a front elevational view of the lever element of said clamping means; and

FIG. 6A is a side elevational view and FIG. 6B is a front elevational view of the spring element of said clamping means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing firstly the embodiment in FIGS. 1-3, it will be seen that the collar ornament comprises an ornamental member 1, a rib 3, and clamping means including a base element 2, a lever element 4 and a spring element 8.

The ornamental member 1 has an inner side, concavely shaped to conform smoothly to the curvature of the human neck. The ornamental member 1 has also an exposed outer side. This side may be adorned by an ornamental body 7 placed in a circular setting provided on said outer side.

i The ornamental member 1 has an arcuate upper edge, which is substantially hyperbolically curved in direction towards the lower edge. The lower edge is also arcuate, being substantially elliptically curved away spring element 8 being adjacent the lower edge portion of ornamental member 1. Spring element 8 is introduced through the lower hole of base element 2, and lever element 4 (FIG. 5A and 5B) is introduced through the upper hole of base element 2. Lever ele-, ment 4 is shown in its clamping position in FIGS. 2 and 3. When its lower end is moved with'slight force away from the rib 3, it will finally reachanother extreme position, the opening position, as a result of the force exerted by the spring element 8 and the configuration of the elements of the clamping means (especially of spring element 8) and their mutual arrangement, as is evident from FIG. 3 of the drawing.

Finally, it can be seen that an ornamental hanger is suspended on a hook fastened to the lower edge portion of the ornamental member 1 (H65. 1-3). In the illustrated embodiment the ornamental hanger is a strip, which has a decorative geometrical configuration.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a collar ornament having very detailed features, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, it is believed that the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention, that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A collar ornament for collars of shirts, blouses and the like, comprising an ornamental member having an inner side which faces a human neck when in use, and an exposed outer side; a rib extending along a lower edge portion of said inner side for maintaining said lower edge portion spaced from the neck; and clamping means for releasably engaging a collar in the region under the chin of a wearer, comprising a base element connected with and slightly spaced from said inner side and having an opening, a spring element having a first end portion connected to said base element and a free second end portion which overlies said opening intermediate said inner side and said base element, and a clamping element having a bifurcated inner portion wider than said opening and embracing said second portion of said spring element intermediate said second portion and said base element, and an outer portion extending outwardly through said opening for clamping engagement with a collar.

2. A collar ornament according to claim 1, wherein said inner side of said ornamental member is concave.

I 3. A collar ornament according to claim 1, wherein said ornamental member has an upper edge which is arcuately curved in the direction of the lower edge thereof, the latter being arcuately curved away from said upper edge. I

4. A collar ornament according to claim 3, wherein said upper edge is substantially hyperbolically curved and said lower edge is substantially elliptically curved.

said rib has varying width and its maximum width is in the region of the lowest part of said lower edge portion.

7. A collar ornament according to claim 1; further comprising an ornamental hanger suspended from said ornamental member in the region of said lower edge portion thereof. I 

1. A collar ornament for collars of shirts, blouses and the like, comprising an ornamental member having an inner side which faces a human neck when in use, and an exposed outer side; a rib extending along a lower edge portion of said inner side for maintaining said lower edge portion spaced from the neck; and clamping means for releasably engaging a collar in the region under the chin of a wearer, comprising a base element connected with and slightly spaced from said inner side and having an opening, a spring element having a first end portion connected to said base element and a free second end portion which overlies said opening intermediate said inner side and said base element, and a clamping element having a bifurcated inner portion wider than said opening and embracing said second portion of said spring element intermediate said second portion and said base element, and an outer portion extending outwardly through said opening for clamping engagement with a collar.
 2. A collar ornament according to claim 1, wherein said inner side of said ornamental member is concave.
 3. A collar ornament according to claim 1, wherein said ornamental member has an upper edge which is arcuately curved in the direction of the lower edge thereof, the latter being arcuately curved away from said upper edge.
 4. A collar ornament according to claim 3, wherein said upper edge is substantially hyperbolically curved and said lower edge is substantially elliptically curved.
 5. A collar ornament according to claim 1, wherein said rib is oriented substantially normal to said inner side of said ornamental member.
 6. A collar ornament according to claim 5, wherein said rib has varying width and its maximum width is in the region of the lowest part of said lower edge portion.
 7. A collar ornament according to claim 1; further comprising an ornamental hanger suspended from said ornamental member in the region of said lower edge portion thereof. 